Athkatla
Athkatla (aka the City of Coin) is the capital city of Amn. Its estimated population is 130,000 people during the winter and rises up to 400,000 in the warm seasons. It is a large port town that rests a few miles south of the Cloud Peaks, a prominent mountainous region. It is located in the middle of the trade route between southern provinces such as Calimshan, and northerly ones such as Waterdeep. Because of this, it is by far the largest and busiest harbour in all of Amn. It is a predominantly human city of great wealth and diverse culture. Races such as Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes, and Halflings also inhabit and frequent Athkatla in significant numbers, but are greatly frowned upon. Athkatla is led by a wealthy but ultimately corrupt government. The city is rife with crime and possesses a long standing fear of mages and sorcerers. As such, arcane magic is officially banned within the borders of the city by an authority composed of mages known as the Cowled Wizards. However this has not prevented magical atrocities, the villainous mage Jon Irenicus once blew up an entire section of Waukeen's Promenade, a prominent marketplace within Athkatla. Those who enter Athkatla wishing to cast or otherwise use magics must earn the trust of the Council. Divine magic as used by clerics is tolerated. Athkatla is divided up into 8 main districts: The Bridge District, the Temple District; the Government District; the City Gates; the Slums; the Graveyard District; Waukeen's Promenade (a large marketplace); and the Docks. The city is considered a pilgrimage location for followers of Waukeen. Outsiders believe Athkatla to be a city with streets paved in gold, which could be true but is far from it, especially in the Slums and the Docks where the people are poor and crime is rife. Athkatla's has 4,000 man garrison (the Council Aegis), with a small Council Navy (eight ships and crews, 900 trained sea-warriors). Each of the major mercantile houses and families of the city personally control 100 to 500 (the legal maximum) guards. *'Titles:' City of coin, capital of Amn. *'Size:' Metropolis (population 118,000). *'Ruler:' Council of Six. *'Power groups:' Shadow Thieves. *'Major race:' 90% Human (Chondathan, Calishite, Tethyrian) *'Major religions:' Waukeen (dominant), Milil, Selune, Amaunator. History The city was founded around 100 DR by the Shoon Empire along with Murann and Crimmor with mostly Calishite immigrants, in what was then known as "the emirate of Amin". The Empire fell and in 460 DR, Amn became an independent nation with the city of Esmeltaran as its capital city (despite Athkatla being the oldest and most established city). The nation was blessed with peace and prosperity for over 700 years, a period during which the rulers of Amn initiated trade with the far north. Money became the center of every good Amnian citizen's world, and the nation's taste for accumulating wealth corrupted many of the mercantile classes. Things got worse from 1238 DR forward as every three or four decades saw a trade war erupt that would last for two or three years at a stretch. The worst one came in 1333 DR when all trade in or out of Amn was stopped. A young merchant from Athkatla named Thayze Selemchant had just inherited a rich spice-importing business and the most affluent trading house in the city. He refused to allow this trade war to squash the wealth and power he would inevitably gain from his inheritance, so he personally went out and "persuaded" (using his intelligence, charisma, secret powers of magic and the third largest personal fortune in the country) five other Amnian merchant house leaders into forming a new government that wouldn't be so susceptible to these trade wars. The attempt succeeded and peace reigned once more (though only with a compact of mutual nonaggression with the Shadow Thieves). The new "Council of Six" was based in Athkatla and the city became Amn's new capital and busiest trade port on the Sword Coast. More recently, as the last free port in Amn (after Murann's siege and fall), Athkatla has become the hub for nearly all the trade from Maztica. After the Spellplague though and the vanishing of Maztica, that trade has stopped. The Council House The Council House is an old fortress-like unremarkable building in Athkatla. It is the base of operations for the Council of Six, the government of the nation of Amn. The building was constructed during the days of Shoon and it has extensive tunnel systems and dungeons beneath it. These are supposed to lead to various places within Athkatla and in the surrounding countryside. Major temples *'Arbalest's House'. A monastery and temple to the god Milil on the hills north of Goldspires and the harbor is one of the most prominent churches in Athkatla. The mysterious P atriarch of Song oversees developments. This temple is significant for three reasons: It was Milil's place of rest during the Time of Troubles; it houses the mighty organ called the Bellows of Milil (which can be heard well out into the harbor); and furthermore, Milil himself made a gate linking this temple and the bards' college of New Olamn in Waterdeep. *'The Dome of the Rose'. A monastery and temple to Amaunator is another significant religious structure located in the city's Gem District. Mornmaster Thaddin Dawnhunter, a quiet priest with little inclination to mercantilism, oversees the other priests, monks, and followers. The three-story temple hall is capped with a dome of rose tinted glass that glows at dawn during morning song and prayer services. *'Moonhall'. A seven-sided conical temple to Selûne in the Wave District located near the waterfront. High Priestess and Lunar Aryn Gallowglass, an aged half-sister of the tyrant Ernest Gallowglass of Tethyr, is a shrewd business woman with three trade ships to her name. She ploughs back most of her profits into the temple fund. *'Waukeen's Promenade'. Given the symbols of Waukeen (pearls or coins) stamped into many doors and signboards in Athkatla, nearly every street comer there could be considered a shrine to the Coin Goddess. Waukeen remains the gratest power in Amn. Her greatest location is still the Promenade; a prominent, oval-shaped marketplace, located in the heart of Athka tla. The Promenade is named after Waukeen, the once missing Goddess of Wealth. A good portion of it was destroyed by the evil Mage Jon Irenicus. Located within the Promenade are general shops, bookshops, homes, a carnival, shops carrying various sundries, inns, and the Adventurer's Mart, run by former adventurer Ribald Barterman. Waukeen's Promenade is one of the most impressive structures in Athkatla. It is a huge marketplace, twice the size of Waterdeep's market and built as an oval stadium surrounded by terraced 50-foot walls. The Promenade has 75-foot-wide levels for consumer and mercantile traffic. From the upper levels falls some shade to the lower ones. The most expansive areas for merchants is the entry level on the ground or the first terrace over the entry arches. Greater guilds and merchant houses have monopolized that area of the market. Wide ramps lead up to the terraces where additional stalls and booths provide anything and everything from across the Realms. The city guards are constantly patrolling the market and therefore only a few illegal or magical items can be found at Waukeen's Promenade. But the Promenade is also a place where clandestine meetings are often planned for unlawful business, wich actually takes place elsewhere.